


Like the Sea in Summer

by marmarci



Category: Arashi (Band), Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: Drama, Falling In Love, Friendship, Multi, Multichapter, Romance, Summer, Summer Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-03
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-01-08 16:56:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12258363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marmarci/pseuds/marmarci
Summary: Satoshi goes back to a place full of memories. When the feelings are too overwhelming, he finds himself remembering that time long ago when he and his friends Masaki and Kazu had gone on a Summer Vacation to the beach he's standing on right now...





	1. Prologue: Insomnia

**Author's Note:**

> Note: This is the Prologue to a multi chapter fic.  
> I'll be uploading each chapter on a weekly basis, as I wrote this story in Spanish and I need some time to translate it and have each chapter revised before posting.  
> Thank you for your understanding :)

**Prologue**  
_**Insomnia** _

Satoshi couldn’t fall asleep, and he wasn’t surprised in the least. He sighed. Why on Earth had they have to come precisely here for their holidays? Sitting on the edge of the bed, he turned around and looked at Jun, deep asleep and barely covered by a strip of sheets. He sighed again. This was the last place on Earth he would have wanted to go to with him. They could have gone to the mountains, or somewhere far in the North, or even abroad. Anywhere would have been fine. Anywhere but here. Anywhere but the sea.  
Satoshi looked at Jun with sad eyes. He had been trying to avoid this exact situation at all costs, but no wonder he wasn’t able to. Jun didn’t know anything about his secret. He had never given Jun an explanation as for why he wouldn’t even hear about going near the coast. It was a matter of time this happened, he thought. Satoshi leaned his body over him and put a soft kiss on his naked shoulder. Jun didn’t have a clue about what was keeping Satoshi away from the sea, and that was exactly how Satoshi wanted it.

Sighing he got out of bed, took some clothes that were lying on a chair, and left the room. He put the clothes on in the living room, and then went to the kitchen for a glass of water. He was painfully aware he’d be having no sleep that night.

It was the smell of the sea. The smell of sand and salt, the humidity, the changing color of the sea, always mimicking the sky above. He drank the glass of water in a gulp, trying to ignore the humidity around his eyes as well. He didn’t want to remember those days. He didn’t want to rekindle all that pain once again, even though… maybe he should. Maybe he owed him at least that, he thought. For him. And for himself. Holding his breath, he found himself remembering those shinny eyes of his, those lips, the sun shining through his hair, the tan of his skin.  
A sudden noise startled him. Jun was leaning against the kitchen door, only wearing the sheets around his waist and looking at him with drowsy eyes.

“Can’t you sleep?” He asked while yawning.

“It’s ok. Go back to bed” Satoshi whispered.

But Jun wouldn’t go back to bed. Instead, he got closer to him from behind and embraced him from the back, laying his chin on Satoshi’s shoulder.

“Hey, are you alright? You’ve been quite restless all day long”.

“Oh, is that so? I didn’t notice”, he replied trying to sound as calm as possible, even if he knew Jun was totally right.

“Satoshi…”

“Everything is ok” Satoshi smiled, “really. It’s just that I’m a little sleepless tonight, that’s all”.

“That’s all?” said Jun raising an eyebrow in disbelief. “I’ve never met anyone as quick as you in falling asleep right away in my entire life”.

Satoshi glared at the empty glass in front of him. He had no idea of what else to say.

“Go back to bed, Jun. I’ll be there in a moment, ok?”

Jun stared back at him without saying a word. After a few seconds he kissed Satoshi behind his ear and let go of his back, walking towards the bedroom. When he was about to go back inside, he suddenly stopped by the door and turned around, facing Satoshi with a look he didn’t know how to read.

“Sometimes I would really love to know what you’re thinking” he muttered gravely, more than Satoshi had expected.

“I’ve told you thousands of times. I think about the same things as everybody else. Like what I’m going to have for lunch, for example” he smiled slightly trying to get a knowing smile out of him. Because that very question was something Jun used to ask him often, to what Satoshi would always answer in the same way. It was like their little private joke. Usually they would laugh and then go back to whatever they were doing. But Jun wasn’t smiling this time. He just looked down and disappeared in the shadows of the bedroom, without giving Satoshi a second glance.

In Jun’s absence Satoshi felt empty. Beset by the ghosts of his past once again. He looked out the kitchen’s window. It faced the beach.  
Jun had rented that little house by the sea as a holiday surprise. It was on the very beach, so close to the water that only a few meters separated the house from the sea itself. It even had one of those cozy terraces with a pair of chairs, facing the water. A perfect place to watch the sunset comfortably. He bit his lower lip. The problem was he knew this house shouldn’t be standing here. It wasn’t its place. It was a newly built house, fact that he knew for sure; and not because it smelled like new. He knew it because he had been on that beach before. On that very beach in particular. Back in those days when these bunch of new and modern houses hadn’t been built yet. Back when that combini hadn’t even been planned, or the road there hadn’t been paved yet. Back when that place was still considered distant from the town. Back when only the young used that beach as their secret place.

At the other side of the window only the night was visible. He couldn’t even see the sea line. Without a second thought he opened the glass door between him and the beach and stepped outside, entering the night. The scent of the sea bit him like sharp teeth on his chest. As if someone had opened wide that storehouse of memories he had been fighting to keep locked deep inside. Hidden on the corner of his mind where he had decided to lock away all about what happened that summer.

He saw the sand shine under the moonlight, the sea dark as ink in front of him, and started to walk towards it. He knew by heart every rock on the horizon, every sound made by the waves, every star on the sky, every dune of the sand. How many times had he gone to that beach? How many nights? No, he couldn’t see all that without remembering the past. Even now, he couldn’t. Instinctively he clapped his hand to his mouth trying not to break down, trying to remain composed, but it was already too late. Tears had already started to roll down his cheeks. Too many memories, too much emotion, too many feelings, too much pain. Without even noticing it himself, he had fallen on his knees over the sand, facing the sea and cursing it. Watching it through the tears, even if he couldn’t see but a blurry darkness ahead.  
And as he was staring at it, he remembered. He decided to. Because he was there once again. Because he owed him that.

To Sho.

Sho was like the sea in summer. He was like the very first breath of sea air you take when, after a whole year of feeling locked down between concrete buildings and packed trains, you go for the first time that year on holiday to the beach. He was like that first day of summer holidays in which, as soon as you make out the sea, you roll the car window down in haste, just to let that sea scent make its way right into your lungs. Breathing deeply, taking in the summer, the sea, the salt, the sun. That smell full of promises of orange sunsets, night baths, ice creams and beach walks. It was the feeling of newness confronted to a boring repetitive routine, and at the same time, it was every summer’s routine.  
The first day of beach was always filled with new sensations. Sensations to which it was so easy to get used to that you couldn’t even see them coming. In the same way as you would forget them, and then yearn for them again as soon as you realized they were gone.  
Sho was exactly like all those feelings together. However, to that long ago summer’s Satoshi, who breathed deeply to the very sight of the sea, rolling back the car windows while closing his eyes in a wide smile, Sho didn’t exist yet.

In that happy moment, all that was meant to happen, was yet to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Just "fun"-fiction, not based on reality not even in the slightest bit.No offense pretended in any of my writings. Never. Ever. I love this guys and the way they inspire me.
> 
> If you liked this, please be patient. There are more on the way :)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it! :)


	2. The smell of the sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Actually Chapter 1.  
> I'll be uploading each chapter on a weekly basis, as I wrote this story in Spanish and I need some time to translate it and have each chapter revised before posting.  
> Thank you for your understanding :)

**Chapter 1**  
_**The smell of the sea** _

 

“Satoshi, please close the window. The wind is making my hair get into my eyes and I can’t see”, said Masaki while driving.

“What? No way! I’ve been waiting for this all year”

“You know you can come to the beach when it’s nor summer, right? As, you know, it’s not like they close the sea or anything, you know” pierced the always sarcastic Kaz playing on his game console while leaning on the back seat.

“Oh, come on! Shut up both of you! It’s the smell of the sea! The smell of summer!”

“I know, it’s just that I can’t see the road” moaned Masaki.

Kaz paused his game, took a hair band off his wrist and did a topknot on Masaki’s head, battling from the rear seat to do so.

“There you go” said Kaz with a satisfactory look in his eyes, then going back to his game.

“Wow, Kaz, thanks!”

“Yeah, yeah, but better don’t look yourself in the mirror” he muttered in a low voice with a mischievous grin on his face, concentrated on the game once again.

Sitting beside Masaki, Satoshi was making his best not to burst into laugh at the sight of the ridiculous topknot. It looked as if Masaki was growing a palm tree on his head. He turned his face away trying not to laugh, and looked through the car window, rolling it down completely and lying his head on it while taking a deep breath of the sea air he had been waiting for all year. Satoshi loved summer. Satoshi loved the sea.

The three of them were still University students in their senior year, so they didn’t have much money to spend. That was why they’d had to resign themselves to renting a small one room apartment on the outskirts of the seaside city, quite distant from downtown. In fact, they soon realized it was farther than expected. Masaki drove slowly through narrow roads while Satoshi used a map to give him directions. After zipping around in the car for a while, they finally found the building they were looking for. It was at the very end of dozens of buildings that all looked the same. Probably all built for the same purpose: to meet the demands of hundreds of holidaymakers each year. Here and there you could see towels, swimwear and the like hanging from tiny verandas and clotheslines. The buildings were ugly and motley, but still, they had something surprisingly good: There was a beach just below. The three guys were sure they would probably have an amazing sight of the sea from the apartment window. Besides, just a few meters away from the building there was a seafront promenade that Satoshi was already looking forward to exploring.

Masaki parked the car nonchalantly as close to our building as possible. He was dead tired after driving for more than three hours non-stop. He just wanted to get rid of the luggage and run to the beach to get his first bath of the summer. They took their luggage bags to the apartment 305 right away. There was no elevator and it was hot and humid, so they got to the apartment floor dripping in sweat. First things first, Satoshi made sure the apartment window headed to the sea. The views were so amazing that neither of them even cared that the one room apartment was actually smaller than expected, or that it had almost no cooking utensils.

“It’s no big deal, we can always eat out or look for takeaway food” he said lively as he was already opening the room window.

“What? No! We can’t eat out every day!” Exclaimed Kaz rising his eyes from the game console he had already pulled out of his back pocket.

“There’re pans and so, isn’t that enough?” Said indolently Masaki, not giving the matter a second thought.

Kaz sighted. “Don’t look at me. You´ll be doing all the cooking here” he said.

“What? Hey! I already drove all the way here!”

“Good job” replied Kaz absently.

“Hey guys, let’s go to the beach” urged Satoshi. “We’ll think about the food later”

Masaki and Kaz nodded. In less than ten minutes they were ready, swimsuits on and towel on their shoulders.  
As they were quite tired, they decided to have their first bath of the year on the very beach beside the apartment building. Soon enough they got to know the reason behind why that pretty beach was completely empty of holidaymakers. The water was filled with seaweeds and jellyfishes, and the sand was full of broken seashells that stuck to their feet. Still, it was the first bath of the year, so there was no seaweed, jellyfish or seashell, nor even a lightning falling from the sky, that could spoil that. They got into the water striding, screaming at the cold contact with it, throwing seaweeds at each other and dodging jellyfishes as part of a self made up game. It wasn’t the best beach in the world, that was for sure, but it wasn’t that bad either. The only problem was that the bath had made them hungry, and they were painfully far from the center of town. So there was no other option but to go by car, if they wanted to put something in their stomachs. Masaki complained profusely and made his friends make sure there was no trace of sand on their clothes, sandals and towels when entering his car. As well as be careful not to get the seats wet.

Satoshi and Kaz did all that loosely on purpose, just to see Masaki’s worried face as he feared for the upholstery of that second hand car he had just bought.

Downtown was definitely something else. There were people everywhere, restaurants, beach bars, crowded seafront promenades and lots of beach goods shops, as well as souvenirs made of seashells and seahorse’s skeletons everywhere. That is to say, everything was exactly what you expected of a day by the seaside.  
From the gap between buildings, Satoshi and Kaz looked eagerly at the promenades that leaded to the beach, driving crowds of summer vacationers to golden sand beaches overflowed with towels and beach umbrellas.  
The sudden smell of a grill slipped into the car when passing by a small bar, making all three of their mouths water.

“Masa, park here” begged Satoshi at the same time his stomach rumbled loudly.

“I’m trying, but there’re no parking spaces anywhere. Let me know if you see one”

“There is one!!” Yelled Kaz. “That guy’s leaving!”

Masaki swerved to the left, throwing his friends to the right side of the car, and parked abruptly on the space that a brand new red car had just left just a second before a jeep tried to take it.

“Safe!” Shouted triumphantly Masaki in face of a too scared to breathe, speechless Kaz and Satoshi.

“Remind me never to notify you of a free parking space ever again in my life” panted Kaz, his heart skipping a beat.

Masaki just laughed and got out of the car with a wide smile on his face. ‘That’s for the sand on my car’, he thought naughtily. He was soon followed by Satoshi and Kaz, who forgot the little parking incident as soon as they put a foot out of the car, feeling immediately part of the festive atmosphere around. Before they could even realize it, they were already captivated by the diversity of food smells, noises, distant music and crowds of people. Satoshi took a deep breath. Food and beach, nothing could beat that. Without even asking his friends, he roll out straight to that little bar they had seen before from the car before. The bar with the tasty grill smell that was to blame for the sudden quest for a free parking space, hence the one to blame for Masaki’s risky swerving.

After a well-earned meal to officially put a start to their summer vacation, the three of them walked to the nearest beach. The Sun Beach, it was called.  
The orange sand covered everything, or at least that’s what they supposed, as the beach was so packed the sand was barely visible. Unconsciously they remembered that quiet and empty beach full of seaweed under their apartment building. This was the complete opposite. Even though, after a short walk they miraculously found a place where there was enough space to lay their three towels side by side. The second they laid on them, Kaz took out his game console and started playing sitting cross-legged, Masaki laid back at ease on his elbows, while Satoshi sprawled himself facing up, spreading arms and legs.

“This is wonderful” said Masaki.

“Right on” responded Satoshi letting the sunbeams warm every centimeter of his skin.

“Hmmm” muttered Kaz, too concentrated on his game to actually pay attention to anything else.

“Look at that! What beauties!” Exclaimed Masaki.

Kaz took a quick look around for less than a second before going back to his game.

“Yeah, you’re right” he said now looking at nothing but the game console, “although they exceed dimensions”

“No way!” Said Masaki in disbelief. “They’re perfect! All of them! There’re all types of bodies here. What exactly ‘exceeds’ according to you?” He frowned.

“The third dimension” replied Kaz not even bothering to raise his eyes from the game.

Satoshi laughed out loud.

“Serves you right for asking” he told Masaki, still shaking due to the laughter.

Masaki laughed as well, remembering what Kaz always used to say to everyone they’d just met as some sort of introduction: ‘This is Masaki, the heterosexual playboy, I’m Kaz, the asexual nerdy gamer, and this is Satoshi, the gay artist’. Satoshi and Masaki had asked him several times to stop introducing themselves like that, but he seemed to enjoy it so much he wouldn’t hear any of it. He always refused to do so arguing that “I’m not ashamed of what I am, and neither should you two”.  
Truth was that Kaz wasn’t really asexual. In fact, he was exactly the opposite, but in his own particular way. He fancied men and women equally, the only problem was…

“Look, Masa, you know too well by now I would do all and every one of the people here, included you two, but… you exceed dimensions” he shrugged his shoulders while pressing the console buttons quickly. “When you see someone in 2D, let me know, ok? Otherwise, shush, I’m fighting a boss here. Don’t distract me”

Satoshi laughed again keeping his eyes closed, not moving a muscle. Masaki sighted and went back to look at all those bodies in bath suits. His theory was that Kaz hadn’t found anyone good enough to make him throw away the 2D world, that was all. He hoped one day he would be able to find that person.  
All of a sudden, Masaki opened his eyes widely, standing up in haste while staring at a girl in a showy purple bikini. He followed her with his eyes for a while. She seemed to be heading for the beach bar, twenty meters away from them. Without tearing his eyes away from her, he said to his friends:

“Hey, don’t you guys want something from the beach bar? I’m thinking of passing by it to grab someth…”

“Already seen one of your goddesses?” asked Satoshi turning his face to Masaki and looking at him while using his hand to protect his eyes from the sun. “Which one?”

“That one on the purple bikini”

Satoshi narrowed his eyes trying to get to see her under the burning light.

“Oh. Yeah, really your type” he smiled and closed his eyes again facing the sun. “Bring beer”.

“What about you, Kaz?”

“I… told…. you… not to dis…tract… Fuck!!! No, no, no…”

“Bring beer for the two of us” laughed Satoshi without even moving a muscle.

Masaki headed to the beach bar straight away, fast as a lightning, with the wallet in his hand and a smile on his face. As soon as he was gone, Kaz and Satoshi stopped doing what they were doing to spy on their friend.

“Hey, do you think he’ll get her to talk to him?” whispered Kaz.

“Sure thing, just look at him, walking like a rock star. Wait a minute! Weren’t you at a particularly delicate boss fight right now?”

“Bah, I’ve just died. Hey, arararara, look at that! They’re actually talking!”

“Wow, it’s true!” Satoshi laid on his side, leaning on his elbow. “He really is a playboy after all”

“See?! It’s what I always say”

“Attention! He’s coming back!” Exclaimed Satoshi laying back again as he hadn’t move at all, while Kaz went back to the game’s boss fight for the second time. They didn’t move a finger even when Masaki reached the towels and stretched his hand to them with the beers.

“And?” Asked Kaz pretending indifference.

“Well… we’re meeting tonight”

“Say what??” Yelled his friends at the same time.

“Not just the two of us” clarified Masaki. “She and her friends like to gather at night at a certain beach not too far from here. We are all invited to go wi…”

“Wait a minute!” interrupted Kaz. “You do realize I’m not interested whatsoever in 2D folks and that this guy is gay, right?”

“There won’t be just girls! Let me finish” replied Masaki putting one beer on Kaz’s lap, making him scream to the cold touch and letting go of the game console, resulting in his second death in a row. “Tonight’s thing is not just for flirting, it’s to meet new people. Don’t you wanna meet people?”

Kaz and Satoshi looked at each other before answering.

“Well… yeah…” replying as one.

“Then it’s done. We have plans for tonight!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Just "fun"-fiction, not based on reality not even in the slightest bit. No offense pretended in any of my writings. Never. Ever. I love this guys and the way they inspire me.
> 
> If you liked this, please be patient. There are more on the way :)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it! :)
> 
> Author: [Twitter update account](https://twitter.com/kumorinochi_fic)  
> [Blog con todos mis fics en español: Kumori nochi Stories](https://kumorinochi.wordpress.com)


	3. The Dock Guy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Actually Chapter 2.  
> I'll be uploading each chapter on a weekly basis, as I wrote this story in Spanish and I need some time to translate it and have each chapter revised before posting.  
> Thank you for your understanding :)

**Chapter 2**  
_**The dock guy** _

 

“What part of ‘I don’t want to ride on that’ don’t you understand?” Asked Kaz for the bazillion time, glaring angrily at Satoshi.

“It’s not a mere ‘that’. It’s a ship, and riding on it seems to be like a real fun experience. And, come on! It only takes two hours! We’ll have plenty of time to stop by the apartment, get ready and go to Masa’s hook-up’s party.”

“She’s not my hook-up!”

“Tell that to whoever buys it” replied sarcastically Kaz not even looking towards Masaki. “So, let me get this right first, will you? Why the hell the freaking ship experience thing?”

“Because we’re at the coast, and you know what’s on the coast? The sea. A lot of it in fact, and you know what goes over it? Exactly, ships!” Said an inflexible Satoshi.

“Oh, c’mon Kaz, it sounds like fun!” Interceded Masaki.

Kaz looked at them both with a plotting grimace, glaring then straight at Satoshi.

“Ok. Alright, let’s do this, BUT first: you pay; and second: we’re going to the Game Center tomorrow. No excuses”.

Satoshi didn’t even give him a second to rethink, happily saying “Ok!!”.

In no time he was already buying the tickets while smiling widely.

“‘Ok’ says the cheeky bastard” muttered Kaz in disbelief looking at Masaki.

“Do you really think she likes me??” Said absentmindedly Masaki, not listening to a word Kaz was saying. If fact, he hadn’t been listening to his friends at all.

Kaz rolled his eyes seething in a low voice.

“This one that, that one this… I don’t even know why I bother anymore…” he took the game console out of his back pocket and, leaning stubbornly on a veranda beside the dock, he tried to defeat the game final boss once and for all.

 

Satoshi made an booked the ship ride around six. As they had plenty of time before that, they just decided to take a walk along the seafront promenade until it was time. Kaz was no longer playing with his game console, mainly because it had run out of battery. Instead, he was now devoted to explain to his friends why they should feel goddamned proud for being part of a pal group formed by an hetero, a bi/asexual and a gay guy. Luckily enough for Masaki and Satoshi, they soon got to the dock where they would be starting the excursion. They had been prepared for a long line and a lot of waiting, but the fact was that they were the only clients as it seemed. Nobody was waiting there for the excursion, that was for sure, but it certainly was someone there. Satoshi was well aware of that as soon as they draw closer.

Making himself busy with the preparations needed for making the ship depart on time, there was a guy in a black tank-top and green camouflage swimwear.

Satoshi stopped talking halfway, now completely absorbed by the sight of the dock guy. He suddenly found himself following every one of his moves without even blinking. As busy as that guy was, Satoshi wouldn’t stop looking at him. Meanwhile, Masaki and Kaz were arguing about the importance of using the imagination while looking at someone in a bath suit, or something like that. Be what it may, in that moment nothing could be of less interest to Satoshi than that.

At some point, the dock guy seemed to notice those three men standing at his back. Without even standing up he turned his face slightly towards them, staring straight at Satoshi for two intense seconds before turning his eyes away. Then he stood up and got closer to them. His gaze hadn’t lasted but those two seconds, but it had been more than enough to make Satoshi forget how to breathe again.

“Excuse me, are you the passengers for the 6 o’clock excursion?” The guy asked in a deeper voice than expected, making Satoshi’s heart beat faster, now incapable of saying a single word.

“Erm… yeah, that’ll be us” said Kaz instead, prodding Satoshi and turning to him. “Hey, you, give me the tickets” he rushed his friend.

Satoshi felt his blood turning his cheeks red, so he lowered his face as much as he could while looking for the tickets in his pockets, then handling them to the dock guy avoiding his eyes at all costs.

The guy took the tickets staring at Satoshi, rising an eyebrow in curiosity, not getting what was exactly wrong with that guy. He’d never thought he was particularly scary. Maybe he should pay more attention to that from now on. Scaring clients wasn’t good for the business.

“Perfect. Wait here for a moment, please. The captain will be with you in a second” he said trying hard to sound as soft and accommodating as possible. That said, he quickly went back to his errands.

“Hey, are you feeling ok?” asked Masaki when he saw Satoshi’s facial expression.

“Yeah… I’m fine, perfectly fine. Don’t worry” he replied drawing a quite unnatural smile on his face, to which Kaz rose an eyebrow alternatively looking to his friend and the dock guy. He hid a knowing smile, deciding to save that tasty piece of information for later.

About five minutes after the conversation with the dock guy, a man in his fifties introduced himself as Captain Kato, welcoming them to his ship in a warm smile. Once on board, Satoshi saw disappointed how the dock guy was staying on land while they sat sail. He wasn’t coming with them to the excursion. Satoshi took a deep breath and turned his eyes away from him. The sea. He had come here for the sea. ‘Focus’, he said to himself.

But as the ship sailed away from the dock, he couldn’t help to take just one more look back at him. The dock guy was looking straight at them, using his hand to protect his eyes from the Sun.

Satoshi felt as if something was pulling down his stomach.

 

Kaz had to admit the ship ride hadn’t been that bad, in fact, it had been far more interesting than thought. He’d had a great time, even if he wouldn’t admit it in front of Satoshi. The three of them had shouted out loud from the bow, laid down under the sun on the stern, had heard Captain Kato’s hilarious anecdotes, and even had a quick bath offshore near some sandbanks.

On the way to the apartment to have a shower and get ready for the night, they had stopped by one of Captain Kato’s favorite fried squid shops and now, completely exhausted, they were devouring quite a lot of squid skewers while lying on the small apartment’s couch.

“Listen, Masa, can’t we leave your hook-up’s thing for later? Like say, tomorrow?”

“She’s not my hook-up” said languidly Masaki, not in the mood to fight with Kaz. “Besides, how I’m I going to tell her? Smoke signals won’t work, you know… We gotta go”.

“I’m dead. You go” muttered Satoshi.

“Don’t you even think about it. If I’m going, so are you” said Kaz frowning.

“Ok, then let’s not go, none of us. Done” Satoshi tried.

“But I wanna see Junko!” Masaki exclaimed.

Satoshi and Kaz stood up abruptly and turned to him in disbelief, leaning on top of his friend.

“Junko?!” They yelled at the same time. “Since when do you know her name?”

“Oh… Didn’t I say?”

“No!” They exclaimed again.

Masaki laughed in a tiny voice and stood up, avoiding his friends’ glares.

“Weeeell, I’m having a shower now. We’ll met at around ten, so let’s hurry up, ne?”

“What do you mean ‘we’? Hey!” Yelled Kaz as Masaki was closing the bathroom’s door behind him. “Did you hear that, Satoshi? ‘We’ says the playboy! Hey, you! Don’t play possum, I don’t buy it”.

Satoshi opened one eye glaring at Kaz.

“Oh, c’mon! I’m dead tired!”

“What, are you eighty, grandpa? Lift your ass right now” Kaz said kicking his friend softly. “I know what’s happening here. You wanna stay at home daydreaming about Mr. Shinny Eyes, that’s what it is”

Satoshi tilted his head.

“About… who?”

“Oh, c’mon! You’re not actually thinking I didn’t realize how you peered at the dock guy, are you? No kidding. You almost melt the moment he looked at you”

Suddenly Satoshi was bright red while shaking his head, trying to deny Kaz’s words. But Kaz knew him just too well.

“I bet you were even planning on casually passing by his dock tomorrow to see if you’re lucky enough to meet him again. Am I wrong?”

Satoshi chocked on a piece of fried squid. Sometimes Kaz was so sharp he was scary.

“I knew it” he exclaimed narrowing his eyes mischievously.

When Masaki exited the bathroom Kaz was poking Satoshi for some unknown reason. As soon as Kaz saw him, he made Satoshi stand up and get into the bathroom, closing the door once he was in.

“And you better hurry up, I’m next”.

Masaki smiled widely at Kaz.

“So… we’re going?”

“Just get dressed” grumbled Kaz, his mind somewhere else.

 

Even then, they were half an hour late for the beach party. The location Junko had told Masaki was in fact nearer to their apartment than downtown, so they thought they could as well get there by feet and forget the car. Problem was they hadn’t calculated time very well, so by the time they reached the beach it was already late. However, the moment Junko saw Masaki coming, she run to them with an enormous smile on her face. She was wearing a thin white dress that suited her so well Masaki became unable to looking any other way. Or so it seemed.

“I thought you weren’t coming… you three I mean” she rushed to clarify.

“Sorry we’re late” said Masaki in a velvet voice.

“It’s alright” she smiled even warmly.

“Oh, these two are…”

“As you already seem to know the playbo…”

Masaki moved in a flash covering Kaz’s mouth before he could introduce them to Junko the way he used to.

“These are Kaz and Satoshi” almost panted Masaki.

“Nice to meet you” she said. She looked happy. “Come, I’ll introduce you to my friends”.

Masaki let go of Kaz glaring at him, and then tried to follow Junko while Kaz poked him non-stop as retaliation for spoiling his beloved introduction.  
Junko, the naiad, took them to a group of people, too crowded in Satoshi and Kaz’s opinion. Luckily they soon found out not all of them were Junko’s friends. It seemed not only Junko’s gang liked to hang out on that beach at night, and there were, in fact, several groups of people unrelated to each other there.

Junko’s friends were actually a group of about ten people or so. They were sitting on the sand beside a portable fridge filled with all sort of alcoholic drinks. Junko then started to introduce everyone to everyone. One by one. Satoshi was already spacing out when suddenly one of Junko’s friends came out from somewhere behind her, walking towards them with long and secure steps.

He was the dock guy.

When he reached Junko he stood by her side, carrying a beer can in his hand. He stared at them starting at Masaki, then Kaz, and then Satoshi, keeping his eyes on him while tilting his head, studying him in detail.

“This is Sho” she said then.  
The dock guy, Sho, greeted them with a brief head shake and then rose his beer in their direction.

Satoshi wouldn’t believe his eyes.

He spent all night feeling unable to look away from Sho, no matter how much Kaz tried to make fun of him, regardless he’d been caught by Sho looking at him more times than he’d like to admit, not caring about the fact he hadn’t been talking to anyone else for more than two minutes in a row. Satoshi didn’t know the reason why, but somehow that guy fascinated him so much he made him lose touch with reality. Suddenly someone jumped on his back, surrounding his shoulders and holding him tight. It was Kaz.

“Beach fight!” he yelled quite drunk.

“What the…!! Let go! How much have you drunk?” replied Satoshi staring at the beer can Kaz was carrying in his hand.

“Don’t know, it’s free” he hummed happily.

Satoshi sighed and freed himself from Kaz’s hug. He looked around, in search of Sho’s face in the crowd, but he wasn’t there anymore. He run his eyes over everyone there, dancing in the dark. Nothing. He was gone. Maybe he had returned home, Satoshi thought low-spirited. He looked around again, this time looking for his friends. Masaki was sitting away from the crowd, speaking with Junko just the two of them. Meanwhile Kaz was giving some tips to some guy about how to get to the secret bonus stage after defeating Frida. Satoshi rose his hand, still grabbing a beer can he hadn’t even opened yet. It was already warm. Not planning on drinking it, he put it back into the portable fridge; sure someone would make better use of it than him. Standing there alone he looked at all those people having fun, laughing, joking, flirting and chatting. He wondered, if Sho hadn’t been a part of that group, would he be now chatting and having fun as well, maybe even drunk by now, talking about nonsense or trying to make a point about why Alan Lee’s illustrations are so good?

But Sho had been there. And therefore he had been unable to do anything else besides looking at him. He sighed again, feeling silly, like those old days in high school when he’d had a crush on a sempai and he used to spy on him every time he could. Well, maybe he wasn’t feeling exactly like those days. He had only seen Sho one time, even so…

Out of frustration he kicked the sand, spatting it on a shy girl that was speaking in a low voice with another girl. That second girl stood up and yelled angry at Satoshi, startling him. He apologized profusely and got out of there as soon as he could, heading towards the seashore. Anyplace would be fine in that very moment. As he reached the sea, he found himself willing to put his feet into the water. He pulled his sandals off and walked straight to where the sand was wet, until he felt the cold water of the ocean wash his feet. It was such a wonderful feeling. He felt as if with each wave the weight on his shoulders decreased, and his heart beat more relaxed.

Smiling widely, he followed the seashore with no direction in mind, just letting himself go. The sea was as dark as ink despite the shining starry night sky over it. It was beautiful. He abandoned himself to that sight, only paying attention to it and gradually forgetting about the fuss of the party behind him as it grew almost inaudible. He kept walking until he met a bunch of big rocks blocking the way. He stopped there, feeling the waves on his feet while facing the sea. He closed his eyes.

There could be nothing the Sea couldn’t heal, he thought dreamily.

“Are you lost?” he heard someone say behind him, startling him.

Satoshi turned around in a haste stifling a scream.

Sho was sitting on a rock, a forgotten beer can on his right hand, his eyes fixed on Satoshi’s.

Alone.


	4. Sho

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Actually Chapter 3.  
> I'll be uploading each chapter on a weekly basis, as I wrote this story in Spanish and I need some time to translate it and have each chapter revised before posting.  
> Thank you for your understanding :)

 

**Chapter 3**  
_**Sho** _

 

For the second time that day, Satoshi forgot how to breathe.

He stood still. Not daring to say a word. Not daring to move at all. ‘You must be kidding me’ he thought bewildered.

Sho tilted his head with a half smile staring at him curiously.

“Satoshi, right?”

Satoshi felt his heart skip a beat as he heard his name out of the lips of that guy, said in such a seductive deep voice capable of weakening him just too easily. Satoshi suddenly realized Sho was waiting for an answer, so he nodded clumsily.

“And what are you doing taking a night walk all by yourself at 2am? Shouldn’t you be with your friends?” his voices sounded velvety in the darkness.

“What about you?” Satoshi managed to ask back, not sounding as flickering as he was expecting, which was a good sign, he thought.

“Touché” he replied in a half smile. “I just felt like being alone”

“Ah…. Oh…. sorry. I’m leaving then”

“Wait!” he rose his voice even before Satoshi had stopped talking. “I just felt like getting away from the fuss for a sec. That’s all. Too many people” Sho made a long pause making time itself stop around Satoshi. “Come here”.

Satoshi skipped more than one beat to the sound of that two simple-but-oh-so-alluring words. Satoshi didn’t move. Not because he didn’t want to, but because he thought if he did he would fall. His legs were trembling, melting like butter. He didn’t want to fall down in front of Sho.

“Sure” he replied trying to sound calm. ‘One, two, three, Satoshi relax. He’s just a good-looking guy. An incredibly fascinating good-looking guy, that’s true, but he’s just a guy. Breathe’, he told to himself mentally before daring to take the first step towards Sho. It worked. At least his legs hadn’t bent on his way to the rock where Sho was sitting.

“Come. Sit here” he pointed at the rock nearest to him.

Satoshi’s heart skipped yet another beat while feeling his stomach turning upside down. He swallowed and got close to Sho, sitting on the rock he was pointing at. Very, very close to him.

“So, why have you run away then?” Sho asked, his voice so close to him it made him tremble.

“Nn?”

“From the party” he clarified.

“Oh… that. There’s not a particular reason why, really. I just felt like walking by the seashore”.

“Hmmm” Sho hummed amused. Satoshi could almost hear the smile hidden under that humming. He was trembling like a leaf due to the proximity of their bodies. He didn’t know why he felt so incredibly attracted to that guy. He had liked other boys before, that’s for sure, and he had been going out with some, but he had never felt his body weakening and trembling this way just because of the mere proximity to another guy, or shivering over a voice heard in the dark. He was starting to not being able to control himself anymore. He had to get out of there before he made a fool of himself. Suddenly he jumped off the rock, startling Sho.

“Well, then. Let’s go back”  
“Hey, where are you going?” Both spoked at the same time.

Satoshi gazed at him, not knowing what else to say. That only made things worse, as Sho misread his intentions, thinking that Satoshi’s silence meant he disliked his company, so he didn’t want to be alone with him.

“Excuse me” he whispered. “You go back, if you want to. I think I’ll be staying here for just a little more” he added in a cold voice.

‘Oh my God, what do I do now?’ rang an alarm in Satoshi’s head. He had made Sho upset, it wasn’t hard to tell just by looking at him. Besides, Satoshi had not the slightest interest in going back to the party if Sho wasn’t coming back as well. He feared losing control, that was true, but that didn’t mean he wanted to lose sight of Sho so soon. How would he even be able to relax and enjoy the party knowing Sho was there alone, so close but so far from him at the same time? He had wasted a golden opportunity to talk to him, because now that he’d already said ‘Let’s go back’, how could he possibly not ‘go back’?

Satoshi couldn’t decide what to do, so he just waited, not moving in one direction or the other. He didn’t want to move away from that guy who fascinated him so much, but if he didn’t go back to the party, he would suspect something was going on.

Satoshi tightened his lips in frustration. He had no choice but to leave.

“Ok” he barely muttered, starting to take the first step that would take him away from there, when suddenly he felt something grabbing his wrist. He turned around just in time to see Sho’s hand closed over it. Satoshi looked at him astonished, but before he could even react, Sho pulled him firmly attracting Satoshi to his chest, avidly surrounding his nape and then opening his lips with a kiss.

Satoshi overbalanced toppling on Sho’s chest, his fingers playing with his neck’s skin, his mind quiet, his body trembling with desire, his stomach rotating about itself.

Sho’s lips tasted like beer and sea.

Satoshi trembled in his arms while Sho pulled him closer to him. Not questioning, not confirming, not doubting. The party was already forgotten, their friends there were nothing more than a minor thought. Satoshi was no longer feeling the reality around him. The only thing he could now feel was Sho’s warm body, Sho’s restless fingers, Sho’s avid lips. The intensity of Sho’s kisses.

 

This was how Satoshi and Sho met. Devastating like a storm in the sea, uncontrollable and impulsive. And warm. Warm like the sunbeams on the skin, like the sand under the feet.  
Satoshi gave in to passion, closing his eyes and letting himself concentrate only on the feeling of those sensual lips of his, and those fingers that never seemed to want to stop caressing his hair.

 

By the time they were back at the party, there were only three people left from Junko’s friends, aside from Satoshi’s friends.  
Masaki was then talking to Junko, sat on the sand with her knees laying over his legs. By their side, Kaz was effusively explaining something to a guy that was looking at him almost terrorized. Satoshi wished for him not to be talking about them three and his beloved made-up introduction. The two girls from before were also there, and the fierce one didn’t seem to have forgotten Satoshi, as she threw sand in his direction as he was passing by their side.

Satoshi ignored her the best he could and got close to his friends, still feeling Sho’s hand on his back, caressing him under his shoulders drawing circles with his thumb. Satoshi tried his best to be strong and not take him straight back to that place at the end of the beach, with the rocks and the dark.

“Oh, Satoshi!” shouted Masaki as soon as he saw him. “I was worried, I thought you got lost somewhere unknown or eaten by a sea creature” he said in a mushy voice while Junko laughed sweetly.

“I told you he’d probably be with Sho”.

“And why would you know that, hah?” Said Kaz combatively interrupting the conversation he was having with Junko’s scared friend, who sighed in relief.

She laughed, hiding her mouth in her hands as an answer.

“No, no ‘hehehe’ young lady” said Kaz annoyed, only getting another of her melodious laughter as a response. “Don’t you even try. I’m not into flesh and bones girls. What are you not telling us? Speak”.

Satoshi felt Sho’s hand descending slowly through his back, stopping at his trouser’s waist and caressing it with his fingers. Satoshi swallowed holding his breath while trying hard to act normal.

“Well… I just…”

“He was lost so I brought him back” said Sho playfully.

“Oh, is-that-so?” Kaz glared at Sho narrowing his eyes, only getting back a mysterious smile on Sho’s face. Kaz wasn’t used to be the one being played with. He was used to exactly the opposite, and that pissed him off the most. He stood up suddenly.

“So, what? Are we going back home tonight or what?” He said getting up all crossed while almost losing foot due to the alcohol.

Junko and Masaki looked at each other disillusioned for a second, then quickly looked away blushed. Kaz rolled his eyes.

“C’mon, you can meet tomorrow again, you know? Get up. Now. Both of you. Home. Now”.

On the horizon the sky was already beginning to get light.

“Tomorrow” whispered Sho on Satoshi’s ear just a moment before slowly moving his hand away from his back, letting his fingers barely caress him one last time. Satoshi stayed still, trying not to look at those eyes capable of weakening his legs with only one glance.

“Tomorrow” whispered he in such a low voice only Sho could hear him, just in time before Kaz pulled him away from Sho grasping his wrist in one hand and Masaki’s in the other.

“Mattaku! C’mon, move your ass guys! I’m starting to feel like your mother!”

*****

“Say that again? You made out with the dock guy?” Exclaimed Kaz incapable of closing his mouth, laying stubbornly on the sofa-bed while Masaki was trying to get him out of it to turn it into a proper bed.

“Yeah, well… I was walking by the seashore alone, I saw him and then he kissed me”.

“Say what?!” Exclaimed both his friends at the same time.

“No way! ’I saw him and then he kissed me’?” emphasized Kaz. “People don’t ‘see each other and then kiss’ when they’ve just met, you know”.

“Well, actually, in some cultures…”

“Not now Masaki, I beg you” Kaz interrupted him acidly. “Satoshi, for what we know he could as well be a nasty shady guy”.

“He’s not a nasty shady guy” laughed Satoshi, still feeling Sho’s kisses on his lips.

“Yeah. You would say that, right?”

 

Masaki was barely listening, thinking only about his goddess in white, Satoshi was smiling widely like the fool in love he was, while Kaz had to put up with them both. Grinding his teeth. Out of the three of them he was supposed to be the naughty one, but in spite of that, he had turned out to be the only one not hooking-up. He frowned in disapproval. Even though he had purposely drank enough alcohol to overlook all those people’s third dimension and all!

The three friends laughed, argued and chatted until they fell asleep. They couldn’t know it just then, but that was going to be their last calm night by the sea. The last night of normality.

After that night, things started to change quickly.

 

“Remember you promised me on the dock we would be going to the Game Center today”.

Kaz was leaning over a still sleeping Satoshi, tickling his nose with a shoelace. Satoshi rose his hand awkwardly to his face, then rubbed his nose half asleep.

“Ooooooi. Game Center. Today. Wake up” said Kaz in a loud voice.

“Nnnn”.

Kaz huffed. It was past three p.m. but those two guys were still sleeping like logs all over the place. Kaz wasn’t a morning person at all, but for some unknown reason he had opened his eyes ridiculously early. He had even had enough time to finish the game he had brought to the beach. Well, to be honest, it hadn’t been for an unknown reason. It had been because of their neighbors. As it seemed, that part of the outskirts was the one preferred one by large families with kiddos, early-rising grandmas, loud teenagers and people that basically communicated by shouting at each other. What was left to understand was how come his friends hadn’t waken up as well with all that mess. Maybe they were dead. Kaz took one of the empty skewers from last night and began to check their vital state by poking their faces, neck, chest and arms. He was going to get to their feet when suddenly Masaki kicked him in the forehead in his sleep.

That was enough. Kaz stood up with his hands on his hips. That had gone way too far. He was bored. And when that happened, Kaz could become a real nightmare. He poured water over their faces, jumped on them and even bit them where he could. This action plan had two beneficial effects on Kaz. One: they were awake. Two: he had relieved his frustration from before marvelously.

Once they were awake, a smiling Kaz looked at them laying like a king occupying the whole sofa and starting to begin his game again, this time in ultra hard difficulty mode. Meanwhile, his two drowsy half-zombie friends showered and got ready like two obedient lambs.

“C’mon, hurry up you two. We gotta get to the center and grab something to eat before locking us up in the Game Center” teased Kaz with a tilted smile of pure satisfaction on his lips.

 

 


	5. The Seafront Promenade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Actually Chapter 4.  
> I've had some extra time lately so I was able to translate quite a lot!  
> From now on and until the end of this Fic I'll try to upload at least twice a week.  
> I hope you're liking it :)

 

**Chapter 4**  
_**The Seafront Promenade** _

 

“So, let me get this straight” said a concentrated Kaz as he was struggling to beat the arcade game machine level, too busy to even cast a glance at his friends. Each of them was leaning side by side the arcade game machine, looking straight at him. “So”, he continued, “you were walking by the seashore all emo, and then you suddenly bump into the hot dock guy Sho, who pulled you near and planted you a kiss, just because”.

“For the thousandth time: yes. Something like that, at least. A little less abrupt, but basically yeah”.

“How bold of him, right?” exclaimed Masaki naively. “Even though he didn’t know you were into men”.

“Well…” Satoshi had some doubts about that particular point, “I’m not so sure about that. He caught me several times looking at him…”

Kaz rolled his eyes without even taking a rest from his quick button hitting.

“Satoshi, sorry to be the one telling you this but, when you see something you like it’s so obvious you almost scare the shit out of whoever is near. What amazes me is that he didn’t run straight away”.

Satoshi opened his eyes in surprise, looking inquisitively at his two friends. He knew the answer just by the look on their faces.

“Ahm” he lowered his eyes turning red. “Then he certainly realized…”

“And look at the happy ending you got. Being the shyest and the first to hook up. No kidding!” Mumbled Kaz as he was slaying a horde of bloody zombies.

“So… Are you meeting Junko today?” asked Satoshi bright red by then.

“She told me she’d call me” said Masaki nonchalantly.

His two friends turned around staring at him with his mouths wide open.

“She gave you her number?!”

“Well… it was kind of a mutual thing” he giggled nervously. “Aren’t mobile phones great?”

“Oh! Shut up already!” Frowned Kaz, green with envy because he’d lost to his playboy and gay friends.

 

They’ve spent all afternoon at the Game Center, making up to Kaz for leaving him alone the night before while they were being successful at hooking-up. That trip was meant to be a pals trip, to have fun together, and yet, in less than 24 hours Masaki and Satoshi had already got lost once in someone else’s company.

 

For dinner they went for a pizza while talking, joking and theorizing, messing with each other or taking turns to ally in pairs against the other one. By the time they left the pizzeria they were so full they decided to go straight to the apartment, put on the swim wear and take a night bath in the always terrific seaweed beach by their place. But just as they reached the building entrance Masaki’s phone started ringing. It was Junko. Satoshi and Kaz had a smashing time watching his friend turning bright red, shaking nervous as hell, whereas doing his best to sound cool and sexy on the phone. Both jumped to tickle him while a very stressed out Masaki tried hard to get away from them by running to the seafront promenade.

Masaki was fast, very fast. And soon he was nowhere to be seen. Kaz and Satoshi still laughed out loud, hands on each other’s shoulders for a while, before heading to the apartment.

Masaki took more than an hour to come back, being then welcomed by two cunning smiles, risen eyebrows and quite a lot of nudges. Masaki simply told them straight away that as he and Junko weren’t seeing each other that night, they’ve just spent some time talking over nothing. That resulted in his friends wanting to mess with him even more. To change the topic, Masaki got changed into his swimwear right there, grabbed his towel and shouted “Last one in is a rotten egg!”, then rushed out of the apartment to the seaweed beach. Kaz and Satoshi were already in their swimwear, so they just sprinted after him trying to catch up with him and keep messing with him a little more about Junko’s call.

 

Satoshi was lying on the sofa, his hair smelling of salt and his wet swimwear still on. They had just come back from the night bath when Masaki’s phone rang again, this time with a message. His face shone in expectation at first, but soon it turned into a tender expression after reading it.

“Ne, Satoshi, would you mind bringing me my towel? I left it in the car…” he asked his friend as he sat dramatically exhausted on a chair.

“What? Why me? You go. Or send this one” he pointed at Kaz.

“Please, Satoshi”.

“Buuuffff… Ok, I’ll go”.

Satoshi complained, grumbled and made a face, but he stood up. He took the car keys lying on the kitchen table glaring at his friend and shot the door behind him.

He went down the stairs mumbling and spinning the car keys on his index finger, not paying much attention to the noise he was making by clapping his flip-flops on the floor. When he reached the outside of the building he suddenly froze.

Sho was standing right there, legs and arms crossed, leaning on Masaki’s car bonnet. Gazing at him with those eyes of his that seemed to pierce him to the bone, while showing a smile on his lips. Satoshi remained perplexed.

“Sho…” he managed to whisper. He had been thinking of him all day long. When Kaz had waken him up, when they had gotten in the car, when they were eating, chatting, eating pizza, chasing Masaki, bathing on the seaweeds beach, and after it, when he was lying on the sofa just a few minutes before. He had spent all day longing to see him again, and it was precisely then, when he had already lost all hope, when he suddenly appeared in front of him, out of nowhere. He was so taken by surprise he couldn’t even move.

“But, how come…?” He stammered.

“A little bird told me where you were staying” he smiled.

‘Masaki or Junko’, Satoshi thought. Sho jumped off the car bonnet and got closer to him, shortening the distance between them firmly, not looking away from Satoshi’s eyes not even once. He stopped only a few centimeters away from his lips, feeling his body’s warmth even though they weren’t touching, prolonging the moment of anticipation.

“I wanted to see you” whispered Sho, lowering his voice.

Satoshi just couldn’t bear it any longer. He reached for Sho’s face with both hands and attracted it to his, kissing his lips while arching his body closer to him. Sho let him do as he wanted, smiling in his kiss. When Satoshi sat him free, Sho was smiling widely. Sho then rose his right hand, slowly caressing Satoshi’s shoulder, drawing invisible patterns on his skin with his fingers, going down his arm, opening his hand with his and interlacing his fingers between Satoshi’s.

“And there I was, thinking I owed you an apology” whispered Sho to his ear, trying not to touch it but with his breath. Sho noticed satisfied how Satoshi trembled in his arms, less than a few centimeters away from him, as he kept caressing the palm of his hand. They were so close he actually heard Satoshi swallow before speaking.

“An apology?” Satoshi’s voice sounded unsteady.

“Come” whispered Sho, making him shake as he always did when he lowered his tone.

Sho pulled his arm and took him to the seafront promenade, guiding him to where the light was dim. Seeking for intimacy away from the yellowish street lamp’s illumination by the buildings.

Satoshi let Sho take control and followed him not letting go of his hand. When they reached the darkest area of the promenade, Sho let go of his hand and sat down on the low stone wall on the promenade, with his legs opened and leaning back on his arms. Satoshi didn’t like the resulting distance between the two of them. Not giving himself time to think twice, he fitted his body between Sho’s legs and surrounded Sho’s hips with his hands, his fingers playing with the hem of the t-shirt ends he was wearing.

He was completely captivated by Sho’s direct gaze. Still shining even in the darkness of that part of the promenade.  
Sho put all his weight on his left hand, freeing his right to touch Satoshi’s face, caressing it softly from the temple to his cheeks.

“You drive me crazy” Sho barely said in a faltering voice, as if he was somehow afraid of putting his feelings into words.

Satoshi let the gentle sound of his voice surround him as he leaned over him, feeling the warmth of his body on his skin. Then he suddenly remembered what Sho had said just a few minutes before.

“So… Why did you think you owed me an apology?” He asked shyly.

Sho bit his lip before answering.

“For kissing you” he made a pause. “I… I’m sorry, I just couldn’t control myself, you are so…” Sho looked away just for one second before gazing back at Satoshi. “I wasn’t sure if I made you feel uncomfortable. And… well, I also wasn’t sure if you were into… well…”

“If I was gay” Satoshi completed the sentence looking at Sho in tenderness. It seemed the tough and sexy guy could also be a bundle of nerves and insecurity. Satoshi smiled.

Sho nodded, sliding his fingers down Satoshi’s neck down to his t-shirt, caressing slowly his chest and then placing his hand on his waist.

“Usually I’m not this impulsive… ever. But… I couldn’t get out of my mind each time on that party that I caught you looking at me. Even though those glances could have been just my imagination”.

“They weren’t” Satoshi heard himself say. “I spent a lot of time looking at you. So often and so much I even forgot to drink or talk to anybody”.

Sho bit his lower lip again, this time also glancing at Satoshi with imploring eyes.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked holding his breath.

“Did I ask you before?” Satoshi asked as an answer.

Sho lifted the left hand he had been using to lean back and embraced Satoshi’s waist with it, pulling him closer to him and kissing his lips while caressing his back softly. He wanted to be as close to him as he could. He wanted to feel each and every part of his body on his own.

He felt Satoshi’s arms surrounding his neck and playing with the hair on his nape. He drove him crazy. How could someone he had just met have such a strong effect on him? Sho eagerly parted his lips and kissed Satoshi more intensely.

He didn’t want to let go of him. Ever.

Satoshi had to hold tight to Sho’s neck to avoid falling down. His legs were shaking and bending. Actually, his whole body was trembling at every kiss of his. He felt his hands going up and down his back, caressing now his neck, now his chest, then going down his waist.

He wanted more.

Satoshi parted his lips a little more and playfully bit Sho’s lips while letting his hand sneak under Sho’s t-shirt, caressing his skin now gently, now passionately, using his nails to draw the lines of his muscles.

He didn’t want to let go of him. Ever.

 

 


	6. For Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Actually Chapter 5.  
> I've had some extra time lately so I was able to translate quite a lot!  
> From now on and until the end of this Fic I'll try to upload at least twice a week.  
> I hope you're liking it :)

 

**Chapter 5**  
_**For Love** _

 

More than three weeks had passed since they got to the seaside, but the presence of Sho had already become as natural as breathing. No-one could have guessed he hadn’t always been there, by Satoshi’s side, always playing with his long fingers, caressing his hair, leaning his chin on his head, kissing him when he thought nobody was looking. Sho was crazy for Satoshi. And so was Satoshi for him. When Sho couldn’t stop by to see him, he would definitely call him, and when he did, they would speak for hours. Other times, Satoshi would disappear in the middle of the night, but neither Kaz nor Masaki would worry, as they knew exactly where he would be. Whenever they could, Satoshi and Sho would meet at the rock beach. The very same beach where they had kissed for the first time. The very same beach where they still kissed, lying on the sand, one in the arms of the other, gazing at the starry sky while talking about what worried them, about what made them laugh, what they liked, what they’ve lived through, about their wishes and yearnings.

Sho and Satoshi had become inseparable.

\----- 

One night, while cuddling each other under the starry sky as usual, Satoshi noticed that Sho was nervous and clumsy, like that first time he had come to meet him at the very front of the building he was staying, just before they devoured each other at the end of the seafront promenade, where the street lamps wouldn’t reach them. Sho was so nervous he was trembling.

“Hey, Sho, are you alright? You seem troubled”.

Sho cleared his throat trying to hide how abruptly he had just swallowed. He was so nervous his fingertips tickled to the mere contact of Satoshi’s body.

“Er” his voice sounded pitched while hoarse at the same time, so he cleared his throat again. “Er…”

Satoshi turned his whole body inside the space between Sho’s arms, facing him and looking straight into his eyes. So close Sho almost forgot how to speak.

“It’s nothing” he barely managed to say, feeling Satoshi’s lips so close they almost touched his.

“What is it?” Satoshi smiled, rubbing his nose on his. “You can tell me anything. You know it”.

“Yeah… We…” he cleared his throat again. “It’s not really a story or anything like that… it’s more like a… proposal?”

Satoshi looked at him with curiosity, waiting in excitement.

“I’m listening” he whispered softly, causing Sho’s back hair to bristle. He was weak when it came to his voice, to his eyes, to his skin… And right now he had all that so close to him, he wasn’t sure how was he even going to manage to link one word with another.

“I was thinking that… Well, you like the sea very much, and be on ships too…”

Satoshi nodded, smiling already.

“And I thought that maybe you would like to…” Sho breathed deeply “…spend one night offshore. On the ship. With me. Alone”. He had managed to say it, so now he was tightening his lips in distress waiting for Satoshi’s reaction. Maybe he would tell him he could see through his intentions, or maybe he would tell him it was better if all his friends came along as well, or maybe… Or maybe he wouldn’t say anything like that, maybe he would smile widely at him, as he was doing now, and maybe he would kiss him tenderly, taking his time, as he was now doing, and then maybe, he would whisper in his ear that he’d love to, just as he was doing right now.

Sho couldn’t believe that was actually happening. Satoshi’s answer had been beyond his expectations. Was he really going to have Satoshi all for himself for one whole night? Sharing the small ship’s compartment, or lying on the deck, away from the world, where there were no clocks or waiting friends? Sho smiled so widely it almost hurt.

“Really?”

“Really”.

“All night long?”

“All night long”.

“Alone just the two of us?”

“Alone just the two of us”.

Sho smiled even more.

“When?” Asked Satoshi eagerly, catching Sho off-guard making him shiver.

“When…” he concentrated. “Tomorrow we’ve got a booked night ride, so it’d be impossible. But, what about the next night? The night after tomorrow”.

Satoshi got even closer to Sho’s body, touching him from head to toes.

“The night after tomorrow” he repeated in a low voice before slowly opening Sho’s lips with his, kissing him softly, almost tasting him with his tongue.

Sho felt like melting. He closed his eyes and let Satoshi swept him away.

 -----

“But, does Sho actually know how to sail one of those things?” Asked Kaz rising an eyebrow in disbelief. It was noon of the next morning, and the three friends were relaxing in the apartment.

“Of course he does. It’s his job”.

“Not from what I remember. Didn’t he just do the work of a cabin boy?” Remarked Kaz.

“Captain Kato lets him take control of the ship sometimes”.

“Hmmmm” muttered Kaz not buying the whole ‘sailing-Sho’ thing at all.

“Don’t be a spoilsport, Kaz. You’re just jealous Satoshi is going to do such a romantic thing!” Masaki joined in.

“You mean shagging offshore?” Pierced too straightforwardly Kaz as Satoshi was getting bright red.

“I think it’s super romantic” Masaki insisted.

“What I don’t get is why don’t you just shag at his” charged again Kaz.

“He’s sharing with his sister”.

“What about here?”

“Yeah, right. With both of you taking a peek? No way”.

Kaz got lost in his thoughts for a second.

“That could actually be quite interesting” he said with a tilted and naughty smile.

“Kaz, no! This is a beautiful, romantic thing between the two of them. Even the fact that Sho is risking his job taking Captain Kato’s ship without permission to take Satoshi offshore for a whole night is as lovely as the most romantic movi…”

“One moment! Hold there! What is all that about Sho risking his job?” Asked a confused Satoshi.

“Uuupsy” Masaki quickly hid his mouth with his hands. “Nothing. I know nothing”.

Before he had time to even try to protect himself, Masaki felt Kaz immobilizing him on the floor while Satoshi was already sitting on his chest.

“Now is when you start talking” said Kaz with a sadistic smile on his face.

“That’s all I know, I swear! Junko told me that Captain Kato doesn’t usually let Sho sail by himself if he’s not nearby. Nobody knows why, because Sho is such a pro already. Anyways, being the Captain as stubborn as he is, even if Sho asked him to lend him the ship he wouldn’t, or he’ll insist in coming with you, which would put a damper on the mood… So, Sho has been busy preparing a surprise or something, while planning when he could take the ship and remain unnoticed. He really wants to take Satoshi at night to the sea, because he knows how much he likes it. It has to be amazing”.

Satoshi stood up and moved away from Masaki, walking backwards, lost in his thoughts. Not even turning back to look at his friends, he left the apartment taking only his phone with him.

 -----

Sho picked up to the second tone.

“Satoshi” he answered in a sweet voice.

“Sorry if you’re working… Do you have a moment?”

“Can you call me in ten?”

“Sure”.

Satoshi hanged up and sat on the seafront promenade low wall, already counting the time until he could call Sho again.

Long before ten minutes had passed Sho called him back.

“Hey, is everything alright?” He asked tactfully.

“Is it true that you’re not allowed to sail by yourself?” Satoshi asked straightforwardly.

Silence fell on the other side of the phone line. Satoshi waited.

“Who said that?” His voice tense.

“Masa let it slip just before”.

“Junko…” mumbled Sho in a low voice.

“Then it’s true” Satoshi confirmed.

“Not completely” Sho defended himself. “I do sail by myself, alone. No problem whatsoever. I even got my license and all”.

“But Captain Kato…”

“It’s his ship. For business use only, as he always says” replied Sho uneasily. “Do you really think he would just lend it to me if I told him I wanted it for a romantic date with my boyfriend?”

Satoshi felt his cheeks burn.

“No, I guess not”.

“It’s ok. No need to worry. I won’t get caught. Or is it that…” he left the phrase hanging.

“What?”

“Are you afraid of me sailing the ship? Are you afraid of boarding on it just the two of us?” He asked in a trembling whisper.

“Neither the one nor the other” Satoshi rushed to answer. “It’s just that I don’t want you to risk your job for me. In fact, I don’t want you to face any kind of risk at all”.

“You don’t want us to face any risk, you mean”.

“No, Sho. That’s not what I mean. I trust you. Why would you say such things?”

“I’m sorry, it’s just that I thought… I thought I was doing things right. I just wanted to surprise and impress you. What a fool, right? I thought that if I could take you to see the night sky from offshore I could make you feel happy… if only for a few hours”.

“Sho, you don’t need to plan anything special for you to make me happy. You already do. But, thank you” he said honestly.

Silence fell.

“Satoshi” Satoshi could hear Sho sighing on the other side of the phone line. “I would like to take you on a night ride with me on the ship so badly… Lying on the deck side by side, letting the train of waves rock us, alone just the two of us…”

“Stop” begged Satoshi. “You’re making me picture it and I… I can’t help but to wish I was already there with you, right now” he made a pause. “Are you sure it will turn out alright? If there’s even the slightest chance of you getting into trouble… You don’t have to risk anything for me. We can be together and gaze at the starry night from our rock beach, and for extra privacy we could even make Kaz our watchman, to keep people away”

A refreshing laugh reached Satoshi through the phone line.

“I think he is precisely the one we should be keeping away and hiding from” Sho laughed.

“Certainly” he laughed as well, “but I have no more friends left to use for that matter. Masa only lives for Junko. We can’t count on him”.

They both fell into silence once again.

“Hey, Satoshi… Sorry but I gotta get back to work. Would you please at least consider it?”

“Consider what?”

“If you want to get on that ship with me tomorrow night” he said in a shaking voice.

“Sho, there’s nothing I desire more than that in this very moment. I just wanted to make sure you won’t get into trouble”.

“I promise the Captain won’t ever find out!” he exclaimed enthusiastically.

“Promise me you’ll be fine sailing it alone?”

“I promise. In fact, I have some clients waiting right now whom I’ll be taking offshore all by myself. Captain Kato is on his lunch break” Satoshi could almost hear Sho proudly smiling on the other side of the phone line. “And that’s why I have to leave you now”.

“Sho” called Satoshi one last time before he hanged up. “We’ll met tonight?”

“I can’t. I told you there’s a booking for a night ride”.

“Oh, it’s true” Satoshi remembered. “Take care”.

“I always do. And, hey, Satoshi…”

“Nn?”

“I love you”.

Sho hanged up instantly after that, without giving Satoshi time to answer, to be astonished, or even to sigh. It was the first time Sho said those words to him. Satoshi let the echo of those three words reverberate within him. Closing his eyes and squeezing his phone against his lips.

“Oh, Sho…” he whispered in the solitude of the seafront promenade.

 

 


	7. The Night and the Sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Actually Chapter 6.  
> Well, well, the fic is already fully translated by now :) I just need to have the last two chapters revised and I'll upload them as soon as possible ^^ Sorry for the wait.
> 
> I hope you're liking it :)

 

**Chapter 6**  
_**The Night and the Sea** _

 

Satoshi was very nervous. In a few hours he would be with Sho in the middle of the sea, just the two of them. Away from the world, away from the noise, away from anything that could distract them from each other. Embracing under a starry night.

Satoshi gazed at the horizon, watching the sun descending, it seemed like it was almost touching the surface of the sea. Just a few clouds teared the perfect sky of that beautiful sunset.

Sho wouldn’t be leaving work until an hour later. That was the reason why they couldn’t be watching that sunset together. Well, there was also that ‘not taking the ship while the Captain is watching’ thing. There was a limit to how cheeky you could afford to be. Better not to cross that line.

As for Kaz and Masaki, they had been teasing him all day long. Kaz had even advised him, in a rather shameless way, to show up wearing lingerie to the date. That heard, Satoshi had no other choice but to confiscate and hide his game console. To that, Kaz suddenly became so obedient it was almost hilarious.

—-

Even if there was still plenty of time before their date, Satoshi had already said goodbye to his friends, leaving them at the apartment, even refusing Masaki’s offer to drive him to the dock where he was meeting Sho later that night. As nervous as he was, he much preferred walk all the way there. Struggling to repress the urge to hold him in his arms already. They had agreed to meet at a small dock near the rock beach, barely visible from it but right by its side.

Satoshi turned his eyes away from the horizon line once the sunset was over, amazed by how the air was turning purple around him. Looking at how the sky changed from orange to dark blue, he let his feet take him to Sho. His Sho.

—-

“So… What do you think?” Exclaimed a proud Sho, one feet on the ship ladder, and the other on the dock.

Satoshi was speechless. Sho had placed lots of tiny lights all over the deck. It looked as if the ship was full of fireflies. It was astonishing.

Sho smiled fully satisfied with Satoshi’s reaction.

“Of course we’ll be turning them off once we’re offshore. Otherwise we won’t be able to see the stars” Sho smiled happily, then chivalrously offered his hand to Satoshi to help him board the ship. Not that he needed the help to do so, right? Satoshi felt his legs weakening as he touched Sho’s fingers with his. Actually, maybe he could use a little bit of extra support. Even if the one helping him was the one who was causing his legs to shake.

“Welcome on board” Sho said with a radiant smile as he squeezed his fingers just a second before letting go of his hand.

Satoshi looked open-mouthed at what Sho had prepared for him on the deck. For the two of them. Besides the firefly lights, there was a fluffy blanket near an ice-box full of food. There was also a thin mattress on the floor, like the one a hammock of a five stars hotel would have, and another row of tiny lights that led to the inner cabin of the ship. All made to look almost like a fairytale.

Sho left Satoshi on the deck to go cast off the ship, then he returned just to go sit on the Captain’s seat to take over the rudder. His silhouette outlined by the many little lights, made him shine in Satoshi’s eyes. All upright and proud while skillfully navigating. Satoshi got closer to him from behind and shyly surrounded his waist with both arms. He felt Sho’s muscles tighten at the touch of his hands.

“Oh… Sorry. I’m distracting you” said Satoshi as soon as he noticed it.

“No… don’t let go” answered Sho promptly, quickly placing one of his hands on Satoshi’s arm to let him know he didn’t want him to. “…don’t let go” he repeated in an imploring whisper.

Satoshi stayed by him while Sho sailed, clinging to his back, softly placing his head on his shoulders.

Once they were quite offshore, Sho stopped the ship and verified a series of graphics, numbers and other gibberish. Then he completely stopped the engine and spun around on his Captain’s seat to face Satoshi, still with his arms around his waist.

“We’ve arrived” he said while running one finger along Satoshi’s forehead, nose and lips, as if he was drawing his contour, stopping at his chin, then fleetingly placing a playful kiss on his nose.

Satoshi smiled at the gesture, looking back at him in longing.

“So, what do we do now?” Asked Satoshi in a low voice to a still nervous Sho.

“First things first. The views” he said trying to look calm. Sho got off the Captain’s seat, took Satoshi by the hand and walked him to the ship’s main deck. Then he turned off the lights he’d had so much trouble arranging, and only then, he made Satoshi turn around, facing the gunwale. Pointing in the darkness he made Satoshi look at the twinkling lights of the city skyline as seen from the sea. It was truly beautiful. Like the dance of hundreds of tiny lights on an endless watery surface. Satoshi hold his breath and Sho took advantage of it by kissing his lips out of a sudden. Softly lifting his chin with his right hand while the left was already caressing his back up and down. Satoshi couldn’t help but sigh between his lips, losing control. Getting swept away by the passion that pierced his body every time he was alone with Sho.

“Satoshi…” he whispered to his ear, slowly grazed his earlobe going down the neck with his lips half opened.

Satoshi felt his legs weakening and trembling, like every time Sho kissed him like that, covering then his neck with caresses made only with his lips. He held on to his neck to avoid falling down, but then Sho bent his own knees, making Satoshi lay down on the thin mattress on the deck under Sho’s body. Both now over it. He felt Sho’s body warmth over his abdomen, his thigh fitted in between his legs, his fingers entangled in his hair, his chest breathing falteringly. His lips devouring each centimeter of skin, biting softly here and there, then coming back for his lips. His tongue making his way in while Satoshi caressed him under the t-shirt, arching his body with desire under Sho’s.

Over them, a starry sky, black as ink and filled with thousands of white dots resembling snowflakes, gazed at them from above. Sho whispered words of love to Satoshi while lifting his t-shirt to kiss his belly. Satoshi confessed his feelings for him, which he had not yet put into words, while sinking his fingers into Sho’s hair, licking then his earlobe and playing with the earring he had there.

Finally they could devote themselves to each other. Nobody was there to interrupt them or make them go home in separate ways. No glances or voices aside from their own, whispering, yearning, biting and sighing.

Satoshi had never felt like this for anyone before.

Sho had never felt like this for anyone before.

Soon enough their clothes were already covering the deck, away from their owners, as they loved each other like they had never loved anyone before. Under a sky studded in stars.

“I love you, Sho” whispered Satoshi, feeling those words in every fiber of his body.

“I love you, Satoshi” replied him, burying his face on Satoshi’s neck’s curve.

Both breathing with difficulty. Both restlessly caressing each other’s body. Never having enough. Always yearning for more.

—-

An hour before the sunrise, Sho turned around facing Satoshi. They were lying on the deck, hidden under the fluffy blanket Sho had brought, entangled with each other. Sho caressing Satoshi’s hair. Satoshi caressing Sho’s arm.

“It’s getting light” said Sho in a faint voice. “It’s too soon. The rises just way too soon” he muttered sadly kissing Satoshi’s forehead.

“You have to return the ship…” whispered back Satoshi in a tiny voice.

Sho nodded, making both bodies move to the rhythm of it.

“I’ll take you as close as I can to your apartment. There’s a dock nearby”.

“It’s getting cloudy” said Satoshi quite absentminded, gazing at the sky. “It was so clear just a few minutes ago…”

Sho took his face gently with both hands and turned it so he faced his again. He slid his fingers down his cheek to his lips, then kissed them slowly, as if trying to deny that that magical night together had come to an end.

Satoshi didn’t want to leave Sho just yet, nor stop feeling the touch of his skin all over his body, but he also didn’t want him to get into trouble. Gathering his strength, he slightly moved slightly away from him, pushed away the blanket and reached for his clothes, giving Sho his. It was cold and a soft breeze had started to come up.

They got dressed in silence, alternating buttoning up with kisses, fastening with stolen caresses, the feel of the cotton with glances.

Sho sighed once more and reluctantly faced the rudder, staring at the horizon line.

They sailed back to the shore in the same way they had sailed away from it just a few hours before: Satoshi embracing Sho from behind while he navigated, a smile on Sho’s face as he felt Satoshi’s body close to his.

He left Satoshi at a small dock less than ten minutes away by feet from his apartment. They kissed goodbye taking their time, already making plans to meet again later that very day after Sho’s work. Caressing each other hair one more time, embracing one more time, kissing one more time. Why was it so hard to say goodbye? Satoshi buried his face on Sho’s chest, kissing it on his way.

“Tomorrow” softly whispered Sho, like that first time after the beach party, when they had kissed for the first time.

“Today” replied Satoshi, dedicating him a wide and radiant smile.

Sho helped him get off the ship, which shook quite persistently. Once Satoshi was on the dock, Sho let go of his hand, turning to take over the rudder and set sail. As the ship was getting away Sho looked back at him, calling his name in a loud voice to be heard from the distance that separated them. Satoshi was still on the dock.

“Satoshiiii!!”

“Whaaat?!” He shouted as well to be heard over the waves and the ship engine.

“You are the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life!” He shouted grinning from ear to ear while he waved him goodbye.

Satoshi turned bright red.

Sho always had that effect on him.

Smiling, he waved back, even though he knew he would already be facing the rudder, concentrated in sailing the ship. Satoshi exhaled a deep sigh when he couldn’t see him anymore in the distance, he turned away and started walking back to the apartment. He was exhausted, but he had never been so happy in his entire life.

—-

Satoshi fell exhausted on his corner of the sofa-bed. He was so tired he didn’t hear the wind blow, he didn’t hear the rain fall violently, he didn’t hear the thunders nor notice the blinding light that burst into the room with every lightning. He didn’t notice the wind lashing the palm trees nor the water sweeping away anything on the seafront promenade. He didn’t even wake up when the sun light finally flooded the room with revealing cruelty.

The sound of a phone ringing woke him up. He heard a voice picking up and answering. Then silence.

“Satoshi…” it was Masaki’s voice.

Satoshi barely managed to open one of his eyes. Just enough to take a sight at how Masaki was handing him the phone. Satoshi took it with a smile on his face.

“Sho?” He answered, convinced it was him on the other side of the phone line.

“Satoshi…” he heard Junko’s voice. It sounded broken. “Oh, God, Satoshi…”

—- 

They had found the remains of Captain Kato’s ship by the rock beach.

There was no trace of Sho’s body.

 


	8. After the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Actually Chapter 7.  
> Just one chapter left! :D
> 
> I hope you're liking it :)

 

**Chapter 7**  
_**After the Storm** _

 

The search went on for some days, but Sho’s body was nowhere to be found. A tiny hope still burning on Satoshi’s heart protected him from even considering the possibility of Sho being dead. Surely he had gotten off on a different dock before the ship crashed. Or he had swum to the shore and now he was at some hospital room. Surely the storm hadn’t reached him offshore. He was definitely fine. He had to be. Sho couldn’t be dead. He simply couldn’t.

 

On the fourth day, they found the body.

It had gotten stuck under some rocks, sunken under the water due to the violent waves of the day of the storm.

Found precisely on the rock beach where Satoshi and him used to meet at night.

 

After that, Satoshi wouldn’t be the same ever again. Even when Kaz and Masaki wouldn’t leave his side, it was as he couldn’t even see them. The day of the funeral, Satoshi didn’t even rise his eyes from the floor but once. One brief instant in which he had looked up at Sho’s mortuary photograph. That brief look at it was more than enough to make him come down in despair. It took them several days to make Satoshi eat anything solid again. He wouldn’t touch his food, nor sleep for several days in a row. He just kept blaming himself for what had happened to Sho. He even got on his knees and apologized to Sho’s parents and sister in a flood of tears.

Satoshi lived in a world of self-imposed blame. In a dark world of sadness and despair from which he didn’t seem to be willing to get out.

It took him a long time to speak again, even more to rise his eyes from the floor. Years to regain at least a shadow of his past smile.

Satoshi couldn’t stop blaming himself, so every time he got a sight of the sea something deep inside his chest teared him apart. Each time he smelled the scent of the sea, he would burst into tears and bury himself in sorrow once again.

 

He didn’t graduated University until several years later. After years of living in remorse, years of scratching his skin out of sheer impotence, years locking himself up away from his family and friends.

After years screaming his name in the darkness.

 

They say time heals everything. Satoshi never thought it was true, so he chose to forget instead. He stopped thinking of Sho’s embraces, of the tone of his voice whispering he loved him, of the last time he had seen him, waving his hand goodbye. ‘You are the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life’. Satoshi wasn’t able to take it anymore. From that day on the only thing he had been doing was sinking more and more into that well of darkness that is regret, dragging anyone near him along.

 

So he forced himself to forget.

 

He stopped going to the beach the in summer; in fact, he stopped going near the coast in any season. He stopped talking about his university years and turned inward on himself. He built a wall around him and he wouldn’t let anyone go through. He cordially kept in touch with those people he already knew, he even joked with his friends, but never, ever, talked about that summer, because he knew that if he did, he wouldn’t recover from it again.

 

Years passed and he graduated. He found a job as an art teacher in a remote mountain town. Away from the sea. Away from everything, really. He would never ask his students to paint anything even slightly related to beach sunsets or palm trees under the sun. He never gave an explanation why. His students didn’t ask.

Years went by and Satoshi, away from anything that could make him remember that distant storm at the sea, began to heal. He began to smile often and have long chats with his old friends, Masaki and Kaz; but he never went to visit them. Masaki lived way too close to the sea, and Kaz worked so many hours a day he barely had time to eat or sleep. At least he was doing what he liked best, he usually told his friends, as he was working at a big game company.

 

As time went by, Satoshi finally seemed to be going back to be at least a shadow of his former self.

It was then when he met Jun.

Jun had gone to that remote mountain town on vacation to enjoy the local onsen, trying to get a break from the overcrowded cities and popular tourist spots. What he wanted was to get away from the crowds, not to bath with them. And that was the reason why he had chosen such a remote region as that one was. Its onsen weren’t mentioned in any tourist guide, nor were his forests were famous; even the local food didn’t stand out in any sense. It was just perfect, Jun had thought.

He first saw Satoshi at a park. He had left the hotel for a walk down the town, and as soon as he saw the park he decided he’d be having lunch right there. In front of the bench he had chosen, there was a stream of clear water, and just in front of the river bank there was a man teaching some elderly people how to paint a bird mid-flight. Before he could even realize it, Jun was absorbed in that man’s descriptions and advices, in how he made the brush fly through the canvas and how he taught his students to do the same. He was the spitting image of calmness. Jun felt relaxed just by looking at him. By then, Jun had already decided he was definitely talking to him. He waited until the lesson was over to approach him tactfully, trying not to scare him away. The art teacher turned out to be much more expressive than he had thought. And funny, and fascinating, and attractive too. Before realizing it, he was already completely trapped in his charm.

It took him so much time and effort to get Satoshi to accept going out on a date with him.

Since he could work from home, the first thing he did was to move to that mountain town. Then he started to win the residents over one by one, chatting and joking with all the elderly to whom Satoshi, that fascinating man, taught art every Sunday by the small river. Next, he enrolled on one of Satoshi’s lessons. The one that was held every Tuesday night. He was worried Satoshi would end up thinking he was some kind of stalker, but quite on the contrary he seemed to find his persistence amusing.

So Jun persisted.

It took him a lot of time, there’s no denial to that, but when Satoshi finally accepted to have dinner with him, in what Jun directly defined as a ‘date in capital letters’, Jun was so happy he didn’t even try to hide it. Later in time, Satoshi would remember for many years how Jun had put so much effort in turning up impeccable for that first date. He had decided on a designer suit with a handkerchief on his pocket, he had styled his hair with great care and he had even cared to carefully choose the perfect cologne that fitted the occasion. Satoshi couldn’t help laughing warmly at the pompous way Jun had turned up at his door. Jun had never seen him laugh in such a sincere and open way before that night. It was then, in that precise moment, when he knew he had completely fallen in love with the art teacher.

Satoshi loved Jun like he hadn’t done to anyone for years. And Jun worried to death when, after that, Satoshi spent the next three days not being able to stop crying. Jun asked him what was wrong. Satoshi almost implored him not to ask him for that. He said he would be okay in no time, and that it wasn’t Jun’s fault. Jun agreed to not ask him again about it and simply devoted himself to comfort Satoshi. No questions, no pressure. He only wanted to see Satoshi happy, so he would do whatever was in his hand to help Satoshi smile again.

 

From that first date onwards they had started to go out together officially as a couple. The town elders found it quite cute that his teacher was going out with such a feminine man, alluding to Jun. Appreciation that Jun himself didn’t like at all. He tried hard to defend his masculinity, but every time he tried to do so, all the elderly would burst into tiny laughs while commenting amusingly that he even used perfume. Around his third year there, Jun stopped arguing and chose to laugh with them instead.

Satoshi was well aware of everything Jun had sacrified just to be by his side. And more than once they had argued because of that. Because Satoshi didn’t want Jun to sacrifice anything for his sake. Because he knew that a small town in the middle of nowhere wasn’t made for someone like Jun. Jun then enrolled as a reforestation voluntary in response. The second time Satoshi tried to convince Jun to not throw away his old life of luxury in the big city, Jun joined the town meeting as an active member. The third time, Jun offered to collect bamboo shoots. Satoshi didn’t dare to bring the matter back for a fourth time, worried that the next crazy thing Jun would do in response would be to climb the mountain to feed stranded swallows or something like that.

That way, little by little, Jun won Satoshi’s heart. Heart that, although it hadn’t been his from the very start, had grown to be as much in love with Jun as Jun was in love with Satoshi.

They moved in together into a big wooden house, nor too far away from the town, nor too close to the neighbors’ gossips.

 

From that day onwards, their lives had moved forward together in a calm and warm happiness. Satoshi could have never imagined there was happiness waiting for him in his future after what had happened with Sho. He didn’t think it was possible for him, but with Jun by his side, he was definitely happy. He smiled daily every time Jun was singing in the kitchen while preparing breakfast for both of them. It was something that had become a habit since the first day they had moved in together. He smiled every time Jun got out the shower only wearing a towel around his waist and then started to dance and sing the theme song of Pretty Woman while removing it. He smiled every time he got home and found Jun concentrated working on his PC, sometimes complaining about the weak Wi-Fi signal they had there. He smiled when, after dinner, they always cuddled together on the wide wooden veranda, regardless of the season it was. Covered in a blanket during autumn. Covered in two during winter. Gazing at the cherry blossoms in spring. Drinking cold tea and eating watermelon during summer.

 

Yes. Satoshi was happy. But he knew Jun needed more than just that remote mountain town. That’s why they started going on a trip each summer, going to a different location each year. They had been to Hokkaido’s endless forest and to Nagano’s famous onsens. They had visited the old cities and given cookies to Nara’s deers. They had walked around Tokyo and eaten as much as they could in Osaka. There was always somewhere new to go to, something exciting waiting to be discovered.

 

But they had never said a word again about what had made Satoshi cry on the first night they had spent together. It was something Satoshi wanted to forget with all his might, and Jun respected his wish to do so. He was well aware that not pushing him on that matter was exactly one of the reasons why Satoshi loved him, and by no means was he willing to ruin that.

 

Jun didn’t know anything about Sho.

That was why he couldn’t have possibly imagined the sea had anything to do with what Satoshi wanted to forget.

That was why he didn’t think going to the sea for once could possibly hurt him.

And know there he was, lying worried alone on the bed, searching for Satoshi by his side, even though he knew he wasn’t even inside the house anymore. He hadn’t been for more than an hour now.

Jun couldn’t stand it anymore. He got dressed quickly, grabbed a thick blanket that was on a chair by the bed, and went to the kitchen.

Satoshi wasn’t there, of course.

The glass he had used was still on the kitchen table, completely empty.

Jun looked at the back door that was in the kitchen, the one that led to the beach outside. He sighed.

The door was opened.

 

 


	9. Epilogue: Jun

 

**Epilogue**  
_**Jun** _

 

Satoshi could barely see the sea through the tears.

Sho had died on this very beach.

Despite fearing to break down once again, he dared to look at the rocks at the end of the beach.

Sho had died under those very rocks.

Two more tears rolled down his cheeks. He stared at the sea, and before he could even realize it, he found himself imagining both of them, Sho and him, lying on the dock of Captain Kato’s ship so many years ago. Cuddling and loving each other. Unaware of what destiny had prepared for them.

“Sho…” Satoshi whispered in a broken voice. He hadn’t pronounced that name in years.

He was sitting on the sand, with both knees huddled to his chest, embracing them tightly, trying to find comfort in that compact position. Hiding the lower part of his face behind the wall created by his own knees, while with tearful eyes he tried to remember the person that Sho had been. That man who pretended to be a tougher guy than he actually was, and who would all of a sudden amaze Satoshi with the cutest of surprises. That man, who by then was no more than a youngster, as he himself had been. Sho, who had made him feel so much and so intensely, sometimes he had even thought he would explode. Sho, who had managed to get straight to his heart in less than what a summer vacation takes. Sho, who had made him fall head over heels for him. Who had made him fall deeply in love with him. Sho…

Sho.

Satoshi wiped his tears off. They had started to fall again. How many years had passed since that summer? Ten? Even more? And despite that, Satoshi hadn’t been able to forget him. He still remembered clearly each and every one of his features, the tone of his voice. And even though…

 

“Sho, I’m sorry. But I’ve found somebody else”, he felt deep inside that he had to put that into words aloud, even if his voice broke at every word. “His name is Jun, you know. He found me when I was still teared apart and broken into thousands of pieces; and it was Jun who put them all together again”. Satoshi stopped, unable to keep talking as he tried to imagine what face Sho would make if he actually heard him say all that. To him. To his ghost.

Satoshi closed his eyes tightly and wiped his tears off again, this time quite abruptly. He didn’t want to cry.

“Sho” he tried again, raising his voice a little more this time. “I loved you very, very much. So much I couldn’t even work out what to do with myself. You taught me to love, you made me know what it was like to be madly in love with someone, to truly love, from the bottom of my heart. And I loved you. Even when you were already gone. Even after your death. For so, so many years. I kept loving you and blaming myself for your death. I would lie to you if I told you I don’t hear that little voice inside my head anymore, constantly telling me to feel guilty for what happened. But, you know what? At least I’ve learned to silence it, to control it. Neither of us knew what was going to happen that night. Neither me, nor you. And it was unfair, and cruel. The happiest day of my life, the saddest day of my life.

Satoshi buried his head between his bended knees, trying to take a few minutes to calm down before continuing.

“Sho” he repeated, this time more firmly. “I loved you more than anybody else in this world. But I lost you. And you know what? I even lost myself that day. It took me quite a lot of years to even being able to smile again. So that’s why I want to apologize to you, because, Sho, after years of not being able to think of anything but you and what happened to you, after years of blaming myself, after so much darkness… I met Jun. He brought to my life the light I had lost. He comforted me when I burst into tears at your memory, and he treated me like someone special even before I had agreed at least to have dinner with him. Sho, I’m sorry, I’ve fallen in love again. I love him. I love him so much I can’t even tell you right now who I love more. I can’t, because despite how much I’ve loved you, right now Jun holds a place in my heart so big it almost occupies it whole. Forgive me, but please, let me forget you. Allow me to let go of you”.

Satoshi broke into tears once he had said out loud all he had been hiding inside. He thought that if he did so, he would feel miserable, a traitor. But when he thought of Jun while talking, of how Jun had loved him from the very beginning, of how Jun made every day a special one, always with a smile on his face, always with a loving word on his lips, always ready to show his love for him; instead of feeling miserable, he felt relieved. It was a farewell. A good-bye to the past that had given him so much, and had also taken so much from him.

Satoshi glanced again at that beach, trying to memorize each hidden corner, each sound, the texture of the sand and the smell of the sea. He didn’t intend on coming back here ever again. If necessary, he would tell Jun the reason why.

This was the last good-bye.

———

Jun found Satoshi doubled up on the sand. He knew something was wrong, something serious, and worst of all, he feared the reason was something he had done.

He got close from behind to his boyfriend’s back, then placed the blanket he had been carrying over Satoshi’s shoulders with care. It was the hour previous to sunrise and it was cold. Jun sat by Satoshi’s side and put a hot coffee mug on Satoshi’s cold hands.

When Satoshi turned around to look at him, Jun could see clear as light Satoshi had been crying alone in the darkness of the night. His reddened eyes and the trace of the tears he had shed made it so obvious it hurt. Jun got near him and softly wiped away his tears with his right hand. And as he did so, Satoshi smiled at him in a sad smile, not saying a word. Jun kissed Satoshi shyly once he had gotten rid of the tears, and insisted him to have at least a sip of the hot coffee. Satoshi did, then let his head rest on Jun’s shoulder.

“I love you, Jun”.

Jun turned to Satoshi taken by surprise by the suddenness of those words. Satoshi didn’t usually put his feeling into words.

“And I love you too, Satoshi. And it devastates me to see you like this. I know I promised I wouldn’t make any questions, but if there’s something wrong I’ve said or done…

“No” Satoshi interrupted him in a tender voice. “You have been perfect, as you always are towards me. It’s just that… you haven’t chosen the best of places to come to. Or at least, that’s what I thought at first. Maybe it was for the best”.

Jun kept silent, anxiously listening. He was by no means interrupting Satoshi now that he seemed to be ready to let him in through the wall he had been hiding his heart behind.

“Many years ago, on this very beach, I lost someone. Someone very precious to me”.

Jun suddenly wanted to punch himself. Seriously? Of all the beaches that were around Japan he had chosen precisely the one where was Satoshi’s past was? He wanted to hide his head in the sand.

“But finally I’ve been able to say my last good-bye to him”, Satoshi continued. “And it’s all thanks to you, Jun. Because I love you. Because you’re by my side. Because even though I know you had it hard to get to me, you have become the most precious thing in my life. In my heart. So much, I can’t imagine life without you anymore. I love you”, he reached for his hand. “I love you”.

No denial to the ‘had it hard’ part at all, Jun thought. He had never put so much effort into something or someone ever before in his entire life. But Satoshi… he was worth it. Completely. That and more.

He surrounded Satoshi’s shoulders and dragged him close, still covered under the blanket.

“And you are the most precious thing in mine. You know I love you. In fact, I say it to you so often sometimes I think I may become tiresome… But… I… I’m sorry, Satoshi”.

Satoshi turned to look at Jun’s eyes.

“You’ve done nothing wrong” he said.

“I’ve brought you here” muttered Jun feeling guilty while taking a quick look at the beach around them.

“You didn’t know. You couldn’t have. I’ve never told you. I’m sorry… I never did”.

“Wait a minute! I don’t want you to feel forced to talk about and bring back memories of a traumatic past just because I’ve had the bad sense to bring you precisely to this place!” Jun exclaimed alarmed. “I much prefer to see you smile rather than satisfying my curiosity”.

Satoshi gently laughed in his arms cuddling with him. Jun sighed in relief while thinking that Satoshi’s laugh was the most beautiful sound of them all.

“Thank you, Jun. I really don’t deserve you”.

“Silly” replied Jun blushing violently while kissing Satoshi’s head with a smile on his lips, then searching for his mouth as well.

Satoshi smiled leaning back on Jun and kissing him back.

 

‘Farewell, Sho’. 

Finally, that distant Summer had come to an end.

 

**~THE END~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, last chapter. Sorry it took me so long to upload!
> 
> I hope you liked it!   
> If you did please let me know :)
> 
> (Confession: I cried a lot while writing this fic)
> 
> I'll try to translate and upload another fic in the near future.  
> But... right now I'm writing a new story, so I'm not sure how long it will take me.
> 
> If you understand Spanish, please check my blog as well, it's full of stories.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Just "fun"-fiction, not based on reality not even in the slightest bit. No offense pretended in any of my writings. Never. Ever. I love this guys and the way they inspire me.
> 
> If you liked this, please be patient. There are more on the way :)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it! :)
> 
> Author: [Twitter update account](https://twitter.com/kumorinochi_fic)  
> [Blog con todos mis fics en español: Kumori nochi Stories](https://kumorinochi.wordpress.com)


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